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Friday, August 16, 2013

The Whys & Hows of Book Blog Tours, plus last day of Ruby's Fire tour!

Xpresso Reads Book Tours Button

I organized my first tour in the fall of 2011, for Fireseed One. This was an amazing experience because I made direct contact with lots of book bloggers, and I got to form fun relationships with them. It was also a HUGE amount of work.

Fast forward to now, and the Ruby’s Fire Tour. I decided to hire a tour host. Xpresso Tours was highly recommended, and I’m glad I went with them because Giselle took me way beyond my own group of readers and bloggers. Well, I also had those wonderful supporters who I could now go to to help host. They'd already read Fireseed One so they were naturals to go on and read the companion book, Ruby's Fire (I call it a companion book rather than a sequel because it takes place years later, and with a different protagonist so you don't need to read book one to read book two). Giselle tweeted the tour stop every morning, and was always there to answer any questions. Plus, she designed a cool tour button. The tour hosts were amazing too: so many great blog are out there and it was big treat to discover each one and see what they had in store. Another interesting thing was that I realized that the publicists of my colleagues who publish traditionally are trying to get their clients' books reviewed by the same bunch of bloggers that the indies go to! A true democratic process.

You want to get sales from curious readers, and you also want to create buzz. They say it sometimes takes potential readers a few times of hearing a book's name to buy, so the more your book gets out there the better. Not to say you should bludgeon folks with ads about your work. It should be balanced with guest posts on writing tips, and helpful sharing of your experiences. The book tour host will help with that too, by suggesting a spicy variety of content.

Below are my last two stops on the Ruby Tour. Go say hi! And think about reading and reviewing Ruby's Fire, and spreading word. I'll give you a big virtual hug. Wishing you the best of luck in putting together your own book tours! I'll be back on Monday with some interesting news. Until then, thanks to all who helped in the tour, and a hearty thanks to Giselle at Xpresso. Last chance to enter the Rafflecopter below for a Kindle or other prize! Stay tuned for prizewinner announcements.Oh, and what are your thoughts on book tours? Any wonderful experiences? Cautionary tales?

14 comments:

I'm all set for my third and final one. I've never used a service though - always set them up myself. And variety is important. There are only so many interview questions you can answer and still keep it fresh.

I've participated in two book tours via my blog, both for indie writers. I really enjoyed helping raise awareness for their work. I'm glad yours is going so well, I've been lurking from the sidelines the whole way!

I haven't toured yet, but it sounds like yours went very well! I'll have to check out Xpresso and see what they offer. So far, I haven't shelled out any $$ on promotion; but with so many of us out there hawking our wares, it's getting difficult to stand out otherwise.

I'm glad your blog tour went well! I've done my own for each of my releases and I definitely hear you on how much work they are! I wish I had a bigger promotional budget, thats for sure. I'm a bit torn as to whether they really help sales, but they are great for getting the word out, and having some fun :)

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About Me

I write bestselling fantasy & contemporary novels as Catherine Stine and romance as Kitsy Clare.
Head over to my website at http://www.catherinestine.com for info on my author events and to subscribe to my newsletter.
I hang out in NYC, Philly and in the Catskills. I've been known to paint a picture or two. Obsessed with witch tales, bad TV and travel to offbeat places.